Traveling, traveling through the snow...

How much road time, to visit family and friends, do you expect during this Christmas season?

Under an hour - 4 (26%)
1-10 hours - 7 (46%)
11-20 hours - 2 (13%)
21-35 hours - 1 (6%)
36-50 hours - 1 (6%)
50+ hours - 0

Our travel plans have not been finalized, so there may be a few more hours tacked on. But, at this point, we are looking at at least 35 hours of driving, assuming we have clear roads. I see that we aren't alone in our hours on the road. My goal this year is to make the journey less about merely surviving it, but for it to be part of the fun...and vacation.

We love seeing family over the holidays. In fact, the suggestion that we just stay home is not an option...at least not yet. We appreciate how flexible our families have been over the years as we try to coordinate schedules to see everyone that we can. This year is no exception. This year, however, we can't fit everyone and everywhere in...and it kind of breaks my heart. Lynette and Rusty are in Thailand, so we knew we wouldn't see them, which is hard enough. But, we also made the decision not to continue our trek across the country to see Tim and Carrie and their boys. :( (They'll be in Virginia for Christmas this year, which Carrie said is about another 12 hour drive, one-way, from Middlebury). We are especially disappointed that the cousins won't see one another...and haven't seen one another for over a year. And, we have yet to meet baby Zion. Hopefully we will be able to make something work before too long.

We are excited for the time we will be able to spend time with family. We will get to see Wayne's Mom's family in Illinois, his Dad's family in Indiana and my parents as well. We will miss those we don't get to see, but will relish the time that we do have together. We are thankful for that. I wish you all safe journeys this holiday season!